The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in their first Next Gen game of the season and their final game before the Christmas break.
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This was a big game for both teams, as they have both struggled immensely as of late. And truthfully, no one wants to be thinking about a loss over the Holidays, so both teams came in pushing to get a win.
Game Recap
1st Period:
The first period started out exactly how you would expect for the final game before the Christmas break. Both teams came out with a ton of pace right from the opening faceoff. It stayed that way for the majority of the period, which was nice to see, especially from a Maple Leafs perspective. It was none other than William Nylander who opened the scoring, snapping an 11-game scoreless streak. He did it in the most Nylander way possible, on a breakaway.
However, just 44 seconds later, Bryan Rust tied the game with a breakaway of his own, finishing on the backhand. The game stayed tied for a few minutes before Matias Maccelli threw one on net that deflected off a Penguins defenceman and gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead. That would remain the score as both teams headed into the first intermission.
2nd Period:
In the second period, the pace picked up even more and there were significantly fewer stoppages. As a result, the period flew by, but it was still an eventful one. The Maple Leafs extended their lead on another breakaway goal, this time from Steven Lorentz. He had not one, but three chances and eventually put it past Stuart Skinner to make it 3-1. The Penguins did not shy away after that. They battled back and got one from Rutger McGroarty to cut the lead to 3-2. After that, both teams traded chances, but the score remained 3-2 through 40 minutes.
3rd Period:
The opening minute of the third period belonged entirely to the Penguins. They had their most dominant shift of the game and it resulted in the tying goal, making it 3-3. The game stayed tied until Max Domi scored arguably his nicest goal of the season to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead. With just over three minutes remaining, the Penguins pulled their goalie, but Toronto took advantage. Bobby McMann scored into the empty net to make it 5-3.
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Once again, the Penguins pulled their goalie and this time Nylander added another empty net goal to seal a 6-3 win heading into the Christmas break. A much-needed result for a team that desperately needed something positive before a few days off.
